The Oath, The Passport and The Crown: Towards a Lived Experience Approach to Citizenship Among Turkish Immigrants in Scotland

Citizenship is a multi-layered concept that exceeds mere legal frameworks. Especially for immigrants, the new citizenship and its associated values are more than a legality; they are a milieu of uncertainty that needs to be explored. This paper examines citizenship as a lived experience of Turkish immigrants in Scotland as they navigate three key moments of British citizenship: participating in the oath-taking ceremony, connecting with the British monarchical figures and voting in the UK elections. These aspects highlight citizenship as a lived experience that is attached to practising the new identity and new values. Building on this relatively new concept of citizenship, this study argues that early performances, such as oath-taking and receiving the new passport, are often underemphasised and need to be studied. Based on 21 semi-structured in-depth interviews conducted during ethnographic fieldwork in Scotland within the broader context of Scotland’s contested position in the UK, this study offers a nuanced perspective on how citizenship is experienced, performed and emotionally negotiated.